Online: Earle Brucker Jr., the operator of Cajon Speedway from 1958 through the track's closing in 2004, died Saturday.

There was one good thing about the IndyCar wars.

At least the feud between the Indy Racing League and the Champ Car World Series kept American open-wheel racing in the news.

Now that the sides have been merged for a year, the combined IndyCar Series is fighting for recognition while pressed on both sides by the popularity of NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series and the recession.

The 2009 IndyCar Series opens Sunday in St. Petersburg, Fla., with 21 cars expected to be racing on the limited-access Versus cable television network.

To make things more bland, every driver will be in a Dallara chassis powered by a Honda engine on Firestone tires.

Once the most technically advanced of American racing series, IndyCar has become a spec-car circuit. Even Honda would like to see another engine manufacturer jump into the fray.

And it gets worse.

Although the extremely popular 2007 Indy 500 and IRL season champion, Dario Franchitti, returns to the field, Helio Castroneves will miss at least the start of the season while on trial in Florida on charges of federal income tax evasion.

Going into the 17-race season, which visits the streets of Long Beach on April 19, Scott Dixon is favored to win a second straight (and third overall) championship.

A team-by-team look at the IndyCar Series:

Target Chip Ganassi (drivers Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti): The 28-year-old Dixon scored six of his 16 career wins last year, including the Indy 500, to claim a second title. Had 14 top-five finishes in 17 starts. After winning the Indy 500 and series title in 2007 while driving for Andretti-Green, Franchitti jumped to NASCAR only to lose his ride at midseason over the lack of a sponsor. Won the 2007 title at Dixon's expense.

Team Penske (Ryan Briscoe, Will Power, Helio Castroneves): Aussie Power, 28, who won three Champ Car Series races, joins the team to sub for Castroneves until the 2008 series runner-up's legal problems are resolved. Briscoe, 27, finished fifth in the standings in his first season with Penske in 2008.

Andretti-Green (drivers Tony Kanaan, Danica Patrick, Marco Andretti, Hideki Mutoh): Kanaan, 34, is the veteran of the team with 13 career wins and the 2004 title in his résumé. He finished third in points last year. Patrick, 27, scored her first win last year in Japan and finished sixth. Andretti, 22, the son of team owner Michael Andretti, has slipped the past two seasons after finishing second in the 2006 Indy 500. Mutoh, a Honda development driver, was the series Rookie of the Year in 2008.

Newman-Haas-Lanigan (Graham Rahal, Robert Doornbos): At 20, defending St. Pete champion Rahal is the lead driver on the team. Bobby Rahal's son is seen as an emerging star in the sport. Doornbos, 27, finished third in the 2007 Champ Car Series with two wins.

Panther (Dan Wheldon): The 2005 IRL and Indy 500 champion returns to the team he started his American career with in 2002. Finished fourth in the standings and scored two of his 15 career wins for Ganassi in 2008.

A.J. Foyt (Vitor Meira): After three winless seasons with Panther, Meira, 32, is the 29th driver in 15 seasons for Foyt. Meira considered the best driver who has never won a race.

Vision (Ed Carpenter, Ryan Hunter-Reay): Carpenter, 28, is the stepson of IRL founder and team owner Tony George. Had two top-five finishes in his sixth season. Hunter-Reay, 28, scored one win and finished eighth in the standings last year for Rahal-Letterman, which is not competing this season.

Dale Coyne (Justin Wilson): Two-time Champ Car runner-up Wilson, 29, was replaced by Doornbos at Newman-Haas-Lanigan after a win and two top-fives. Big driver boost for the team.

Conquest (Alex Tagliani): Tagliani, 36, is the oldest driver in the series. Ran eight seasons in Champ Car with one win in 132 starts.

KV Technology (Mario Moraes): Moraes, 20, led three laps of the Indy 500 last year while the Brazilian raced for Dale Coyne.

HVM (E.J. Viso): Former Formula One test driver Viso, 24, transitioned with team from Champ Car to IRL last year and had five top-10 finishes.

Dreyer & Reinbold (Mike Conway): Former A-1 GP driver making his American debut this weekend.